Enewsletter

Announcements & News

Welcome to New Members

A big hello to everyone who joined Vegan Outreach at AR2002 
it was great to meet so many new, committed people. If you didn't
make it to Washington, Jack Norris will be at Summerfest.
Stop by and say hi!

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"The other reason for beef eating is, hold on, ethicala
matter of animal rights.... One study showed that simply mowing an
alfalfa field caused a 50% reduction in the gray-tailed vole population.
Mortality rates increase with each pass of the tractor to plow, plant
and harvest.... By contrast, grazing (not grain-fed) ruminants such
as cattle produce food and require fewer entries into the fields
with tractors and other equipment. Applying (and upending) [Professor
Tom] Regan's least-harm theory, [professor of animal science at Oregon
State University Steven] Davis proposes a ruminant-pasture model
of food production, which would replace poultry and pork production
with beef, lamb and dairy products. According to his calculations,
such a model would result in the deaths of 300 million fewer animals
annually (counting both field animals and cattle) than would a completely
vegan model."

Better News Overseas

"As farmed animal advocacy continues to emerge as the most
important animal rights issue today, more and more attention is being
focused on the egg industry. ... This investigation, like other recent
egg factory farm investigations, is intended to expose the cruelty
inherent in commercial egg production and to ask consumers to take
stand against such abuse by refusing to buy eggs."

Open Questions

When one replaces the
question, "Is it vegan?" with "Does it reduce suffering?"
the answers are not clear. Just a few examples:

What is the best way
to spend money? For example, should you pay more for organic products,
or save money and put it towards activism?

What is the best way
to earn money? Should you work for an animal-protection group, or
try to maximize your income to fund activism? Or should you work
in a different field that could lead to a major payoff, such as perfecting
the process for a cheaper meat substitute? Or growing animal-free
meat? Etc.

What about legislative
reform, such as those enacted in the European Union? Or corporate
reform, such as those brought about from the outside (the PeTA /
McDonald's agreement) or the inside (the BK Veggie Burger)? Or industry
reform from the inside?

In terms of activism,
there are even more questions. Is it best to promote veganism or
vegetarianism, assuming more people will respond to the latter? Or
attempt to reduce the worst areas by focusing on pigs, poultry, and
eggs?

Even if one decides that,
given the distribution of efforts throughout society today, promoting
veganism is the best approach, questions remain. For example, what
is the best use of our limited time and resources? Leafleting? Building
a FaunaVision van or Faunette? Seeking to get stories in the media?

After many years, I have
no clear answers to these (or other) questions. In fact, I don't
even know how to go about approaching many of them, given the variables
and uncertainties. However, I believe the best strategy is to be
honest about the unknowns. I don't know how anyone can believe they
have all the answers, and I think that many people are distrustful
of people who present themselves as omniscient. I think it is relatively
easy for most to dismiss others trying to "convert" them
to a rule-based dogma or religion, but if issues are presented as
fundamentally about trying to prevent suffering, it is harder for
people to ignore.